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Christie on hand as new justice sworn in

By Geoff Mulvihill;, Associated Press;
12 a.m. EST January 17, 2014

Faustino Fernandez-Vina (left) is sworn in as an associate justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court on Friday by Chief Justice Stuart Rabner at Rutgers-Camden.(Photo: Courier-Post photo/Denise Henhoeffer)

CAMDEN – The newest state Supreme Court justice is a Cuban-born former football star who prefers to be called “Fuzzy.”

Justice Faustino Fernandez-Vina was ceremonially sworn in Friday at an event at Rutgers-Camden, where he attended law school.

Gov. Chris Christie complimented the justice for going by his childhood nickname even on the bench as he spoke about the new justice to a crowd that included four other members of the state Supreme Court, several former justices, many state and federal judges and elected officials.

“When you’re governor, at least this governor, what you’re looking for when you get to pick a judge or a justice is one who will understand the exalted nature of the work but not believe that it makes them personally exalted,” Christie said.

For Christie, it was the second day in a row of routine public appearances after a week in which he had to deal with revelations that members of his administration were involved in ordering the closure of approach lanes to the George Washington Bridge last September in a move that created massive traffic jams and was apparently done out of political retribution.

The 61-year-old Fernandez-Vina was officially sworn earlier this month, a day after he was confirmed by the state Senate. Two other Christie Supreme Court nominees have stalled, while two others were rejected by Democrats who control the Senate. Senior appellate court judges have been called up temporarily to fill gaps on the court.

Former Camden County Judge Francis J. Orlando told the audience how Fernandez-Vina was a member of a prominent and wealthy Cuban coffee-growing family and lived in a mansion as a young child. After Fidel Castro came to power, the family moved to New Jersey.

Orlando said that as a youth football player, Fernandez-Vina was given the nickname “Fuzzy” after Fuzzy Thurston, the star Green Bay Packers lineman.

Fernandez-Vina was a captain of a Widener University football team that featured future NFL Hall of Famer Billy “White Shoes” Johnson, who attended Friday’s ceremony.